Systems for identifying personnel in security-type positions or for allowing individuals to possess personal identification means have long been in use. One of the most common of these systems employs the use of fingerprints. The personal identification systems are utilized for two major kinds of control: the control of commercial transactions and the control of entry to and exit from secured areas.
In current identification systems used for the control of entry and exit, an identification number and/or a security card with a personal identification number (PIN) is assigned to a particular person in lieu of a mechanical key. When a person wants to enter the secured area, he or she swipes the card through a card reader and in some cases also inputs a security code to verify the identify of the person. If the identification number and the security card correspond with each other and with a pre-registered code, the person is granted entry or exit.
The identification systems typically employed for commercial transactions utilizes a security card, such as a credit card that is issued by a bank or other like institutions or automatic teller machines (ATM's) which require the use of a personal identification number (PIN). The PIN is used to verify the authorized use of a credit or ATM card by requiring the PIN to be inputted prior to any card transaction.
PIN's function well, however, they are often lost or the number forgotten and anyone who knows a person's PIN can access whatever transaction is desired from a particular card. Many thieves simply watch a person as they use an ATM and either memorize or remember the digits of the user's PIN. Afterwards, it is merely the task of stealing the person's wallet or purse and, the thief is able to get cash and make purchases, until a stop is placed on the stolen card. But, even if an immediate stop is placed, a thief will usually use the card before the card stop is in effect; and, it only takes a few minutes for a substantial amount of money to be withdrawn from an ATM.
There have been many identification systems proposed for verifying identity by analyzing a non-variant physical characteristic of a person, such as a fingerprint. Some of these systems utilize an examination of the image of the fingerprint by irradiating the fingerprint with light. The image formation can be filtered in terms of frequencies and compared with similar stored information.
In other systems, a light diffraction pattern is generated from a person's fingerprint and an electrical function of the detected diffraction pattern is derived. The technique for deriving the electrical function of the diffraction pattern involves a mechanical scanning of the diffraction pattern so that electrical information is derived in series; that is, the electrical function is continuously generated over a period of time corresponding to the time necessary to complete the scanning of the pattern. This electrical function can be compared with a stored electrical function to determine if a proper correlation exists, thereby verifying the identity of a person. Although fingerprint based identification systems have proven to be highly effective, they have not been able to fully utilize all of the potential parameters that can be scanned from a fingerprint. Until recently the technology has been available but simply not cost effective for the average commercial user.
The reliability and accuracy of any specific identification or verification system depends on the amount of information that can be derived for comparison with pre-registered stored information. As a result, the derived function from an image of a person's fingerprint is more reliable as more parameters are able to be stored and analyzed.
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention however, the following U.S. patents were considered related:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. INVENTOR ISSUED ______________________________________ 5,473,144 Mathurin, Jr. 5 December 1995 5,363,453 Gagne, et al 8 November 1994 5,180,901 Hiramatsu 19 January 1993 ______________________________________
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,473,144 Mathurin, Jr. patent discloses a credit card that has imprinted an actual enhanced image of the card holder's fingerprint. A corresponding digitized representation of the fingerprint is also imprinted on the card. The credit card is used in combination with an apparatus that is capable of reading the fingerprint and the digitized representation of the fingerprint. Both are read optically and magnetically and once a match has been established, the user of the credit card is permitted to use the card to perform whatever transaction is desired.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,361,453 Gagne, et al patent discloses a non-minutae automatic fingerprint identification system and process for verifying a person's identity by utilizing fingerprint patterns for the verification. A person who desires to use this system allows their fingerprint to be video scanned, and subsequently digitized. Once digitized, the fingerprint is assigned a non-minutae numerical identifier. The digitized numerical identifier comprises bytes of fingerprint identification data, which is recordable within the magnetic strip of a credit, or other similar card. A fingerprint match must be established or access to the card will be declined.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,901 Hiramatsu patent discloses an IC card which includes a pressure sensor for inputting finger characteristic data, and an authenticity sensor for detecting whether a finger is authentic. Both sensors are designed to be used concurrently for their respective functions. Once the finger characteristic data is inputted, a controller calculates a sum signal from the data and collates the calculated sum with a reference sum signal of the owner of the card previously stored in a dictionary memory. After the authenticity sensor determines that the finger is authentic, the calculated and reference summed signals are compared. If the two summed signals match, the owner is permitted use of his or her card.
For background purposes and as indicative of the art to which the invention relates, reference may be made to the following remaining patents and publications found in the search:
______________________________________ PATENT NO. INVENTOR ISSUED ______________________________________ 2,952,181 Maurer, Jr. 13 September 1960 3,584,958 Miller 15 June 1971 3,944,978 Jensen, et al 16 March 1976 4,790,564 Larcher, et al 13 December 1988 4,944,021 Hoshino, et al 2 July 1990 4,947,442 Tanaka, et al 7 August 1990 5,053,608 Senanayake 10 October 1991 5,365,046 Haymann 15 November 1994 ______________________________________